The Hezbollah al-Nujaba, a major Iraqi Shiite resistance movement fighting the ISIL, continued its anti-terrorism operation and managed to impose control over more regions in the Iraq-Syria-Jordan border triangle.

Al-Nujaba forces stormed ISIL’s positions in Iraq-Syria-Jordan border triangle and captured al-Hajar and al-Bareka regions Southeast of Homs desert and two main roads to the Syria’s desert.

In the meantime, al-Nujaba’s missile units opened heavy fire at ISIL’s positions and destroyed several armored and military vehicles in Um al-Raml region in Syria’ desert.

An Iraqi commander that led the war to retake Iraq’s second largest city said on Sunday that the security operations against the ISIL militants in Mosul left 25,000 militants dead.

Lt. Gen. Abdul-Amir Yarallah, head of the Nineveh Operations at the Joint Operations Command, said in a briefing that more than 25,000 militants were killed over the nine months of battles, including more than 450 suicide bombers, Iraqi News reported.

Iraqi forces destroyed 1247 booby-trapped cars and shot down 130 drones belonging to the group besides more than 1500 diverse vehicles, Yarallah said.

The JOC fought the battle with more than 100.000 government and paramilitary troops, Yarallah added. “The Iraqi army fought a battle that no army in the world had fought,” the commander said.

Only the regions of Mahalabiya, Ayyadia and Tal Afar still witness an ISIL existence, and with their recapture, the province becomes fully liberated, according to the commander.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared victory over ISIL in Mosul on July 9th after Iraqi forces took over western Mosul’s Old City, the birthplace of the ISIL where the group’s leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, made a sermon proclaiming control over a third of Iraq and Syria.

In a separate statement, Iyad al-Assali, an Iraqi police lieutenant, told Turkish agency Anadolu that security arrested 245 suspected ISIL militants in Western Mosul’s Old City since Iraqi troops took over the medieval area.